1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an auxiliary body for guiding a stylet into the stylet channel of a medical electrode cable to assist in implantation of the cable.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known for a physician, in implanting an intracardiac or intravascular electrode device in a patient, to employ an auxiliary body in order to facilitate insertion of the relatively long, thin stylet into stylet channel of the electrode cable from the proximal end of the electrode cable. Typically the electrode device has proximal end provided with a connector pin, and one end of the auxiliary body is provided with a cylindrical channel so the auxiliary body can be pushed onto the connector pin, and the other end of the auxiliary body is provided with a cavity whose orifice is larger than the channel's opening. The cavity is connected to the channel and continuously narrows in such a way that the diameter of the channel end of the cavity is larger than the external diameter of the stylet and is equal to or less than the diameter of the stylet channel. At this point in the procedure, the physician has already made an opening in a vein for the cable and even prepared implantation of the pacemaker. As a result of these preparations, the physician's rubber gloves are bloody, at least in part. Thus when the stylet is inserted, the stylet could easily become soiled with blood from the gloves. This means that blood could get into the stylet channel, soil the conductor helix and dry there with a glue-like effect, possibly making it necessary to jerk the stylet to remove it from the stylet channel. This could, in turn, cause the part of the electrode cable installed in a vein or the heart to be jerked out of the desired position. To eliminate this problem, the physician, or an assistant, can dry off the stylet with a dry or wet cloth, but this introduces an additional, possibly disruptive step in the implantation procedure. Wiping off the stylet with a cloth, possibly soaked in sterile water, removes any blood and simultaneously gives the stylet a relatively slippery surface which could make insertion of the stylet into the stylet channel easier, however, this lubricating effect is of brief duration.